FAQs

The children arrive to a selection of activities often linked to the topic that encourage fine motor development and social skills. During the course of the morning, the children may participate in specialist lessons, such as PE or Music. Number and literacy activities also take place. Topic and creative activities usually take place in the afternoons. All EYFS children experience weekly wild woods sessions in our own dedicated woodland area. A fresh fruit mid-morning snack and a child friendly lunch are provided.

We begin these skills in Nursery through listening activities, rhyming games, and fine motor work such as dough disco, squirty bottles, threading, and pegs. Pre-School then builds on this with a clearer focus on early writing.

In the Pre-School, staff carry out fine motor checks to identify each child’s needs. Children practise pre writing patterns and pencil grip, and they begin letter and sound work. We also introduce Read Write Inc as children are ready.

The children receive a snack at morning breaktime with a drink of milk or water.

We have a wide range of food on offer at lunchtime freshly prepared by our on-site Chef and their team. There is a daily choice of a hot main meal with a hot vegetarian alternative, together with a cold buffet that includes filled baguettes and a wide variety of salads. A daily pudding choice is available or plenty of fresh fruit and yoghurts.

The catering staff also provide a hot tea in the afternoon for children in the Nursery and Pre-School, and light snacks for those children in Reception upwards who stay for our wraparound care.

There are many members of staff on duty to help children with their choice of food and to ensure that they eat a balanced meal. We always encourage children to try new food. Our team is used to catering for all dietary needs.

Parents have the opportunity each day to talk to the class teacher either in the morning or in the afternoon. We are very happy for parents to contact us to make a longer appointment if they need a more detailed conversation with the form teacher or a member of the senior team. The Headmistress is readily available to see parents about a variety of matters.

We have at least one formal communication with home each term, which takes the form of written feedback on the children’s development and progress or a parents’ meeting. There are regular newsletters and the website is always updated with information and news. We have a text messaging service and we email letters and news home.

There are termly drop-in mornings for Early Years, Infant and Junior parents to visit the classrooms.

Some companies provide their staff with Nursery Vouchers, which are a tax saving benefit for employees to use for nursery care.  Although we cannot administer this scheme for you, we are registered with multiple schemes and apply these discounts to your monthly or termly fees.

All children are entitled to up to 15 hours of free early education per week (FEEE Nursery Grant Scheme) during term time from the beginning of the term after their third birthday until they either go into a Reception class or reach compulsory school age (ie the term after their fifth birthday).

Some children may also qualify for an additional extended 15 hours, subject to their parents’ working and earning circumstances, to total 30 hours’ funding. Criteria include:

• Both parents are in work or starting a new job (or on sick/parental etc leave)
• Each parent earns over £10,158pa and under £100,000pa

Visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk and select the option for 30 hours childcare to see if you are eligible. You will need to apply for an 11-digit code through HMRC, which we supply to the Local Authority. You will need to reconfirm your code every 3 months to renew the funding.

For our 50 weeks provision, we ‘stretch’ the funding over 50 weeks to keep invoices consistent throughout the year.

Monthly fees are calculated according to our daily rate, which is multiplied by the number of days per week (minimum of 3 days) and 50 weeks of the year. This is then divided by 12 months so that fees are spread evenly to help our families to budget.

The government provides an hourly funding rate that contributes towards the cost of childcare for your sessions within our Nursery and Pre-School. However, this funding does not fully cover the actual costs of delivering the Early Years education within our setting. 

The Department for Education (DfE) states:  "Government funding is intended to deliver high-quality, flexible childcare. It is not intended to cover the costs of meals, consumables, additional hours or additional services."

While the funded hours are shown as free at the point of delivery on your invoice, we charge for other services and consumables which are included in the remainder of the fee.

If you wish to access just the funded hours they can be accessed for 3 days per week from 8.30am-5pm with an option to pay for lunches and specialist provision.

In the event of any absences, fees will still be charged as usual.

In the Pre-School, children begin early reading work through Letters and Sounds and Read Write Inc. Children develop at different rates at this age, so staff focus on your child’s next steps rather than comparisons with others.

In Reception, children take home picture books to talk through with you and to create their own stories from the images. When children know their sounds and recognise them confidently, they take home early reading books with words, alongside a word recognition sheet to support practice at home.

Our staff will always be happy to discuss your child’s learning programme with you. Timetables and information letters are sent home regularly to keep you informed about the topics and your child’s work. Evidence is kept in each child’s personal portfolio and they also have books and folders that you will be able to look at regularly.

Staff may also direct you to the Department for Education website for further information about Early Years education and how you can support this at home.

There is regular contact with your child’s key person. Before your child joins Nursery, Preschool, or Reception, you will be invited into school to meet staff including the Head of Early Years and your child’s key person/teacher. In addition, staff will spend some time with you finding out more about your child and giving you time to share information with us.

Once your son or daughter begins school, there are daily opportunities to meet and talk to the key person and other members of the team. There are special parents’ meetings for specific discussion on how your child is progressing, and many opportunities for parents to be invited into school for informal meetings with staff and other parents.

We will always try to accommodate requests to change days, but this will be dependent on staffing ratios and the number of other children already attending.